Heavy rains continue to cause flooding across state

Thursday

Jul 5, 2007 at 12:01 AM

Locally, 6.8 inches have fallen in Alice

Staff Report, Alice Echo-News Journal

Widespread heavy rain brought minor street flooding, washed out some Fourth of July parades and fireworks shows and prompted more weather warnings across Texas on Wednesday, the National Weather Service said.

A total of 148 of the state's 254 counties, including Jim Wells and Duval counties, were under either flash flood watches, flash flood warnings, flood warnings or a combination of watches and warnings Wednesday night.

Locally, the National Weather Service has recorded 6.8 inches of rain at the Alice Municipal Airport since July 1.

Corpus Christi recorded 3.48 inches of rain by 6 p.m. Wednesday, more than enough to force cancellation of the city's annual Fourth of July parade. A fireworks show was postponed until Thursday. Corpus Christi had almost 10 inches of rain on Monday.

The Coastal Bend-Texas Chapter of the American Red Cross in partnership with Annaville Baptist Church and the Salvation Army has opened a shelter located at 4025 Violet Road, in response to the heavy rains and severe flooding in areas of South Texas, especially along the area of County Road 73.

The shelter opened at 1 p.m. today. The shelter will provide sleeping areas, blankets and snacks. Salvation Army will provide dinner meals.

Residents seeking emergency shelter are asked to bring the following items with them to the shelter:

Bedding, extra blankets, and pillows for themselves A change of clothing Toys or other activities to keep children occupied Any needed prescription medication Any personal special diet needs

At this time, donations are urgently needed to sustain the Texas floods relief operation.

The Trinity River in the Dallas-Fort Worth area was expected to crest at 37 feet overnight, about 7 feet above flood stage. Water level was measured at more than 35 feet Wednesday morning.

Judy Marsicano, a spokeswoman for the Army Corps of Engineers' Fort Worth District, said officials were keeping a watch on 11 slides on levees in the Dallas area. She said the slides were not critical. "We see this all the time," she said. She said the corps was watching for seepage.

The slides ranged in length from 90 to 170 feet and were 5 to 10 feet deep.

Up to 4 inches of rain was forecast in the Houston area overnight, with isolated areas receiving up to 7 inches.

In Central Texas, Lakes LBJ, Marble Falls, Inks and Travis remain closed for recreational boating through Thursday, according to the Lower Colorado River Authority.

Road closures were reported in several counties along the Gulf Coast, where radar indicated a wide band of rainfall.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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